


Solitude and Reunion

by penguingal



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Post-Beach, Vague references to a less than shiny childhood for Charles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-28
Updated: 2011-12-04
Packaged: 2018-06-07 07:17:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6792949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penguingal/pseuds/penguingal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The second chapter is really a sequel to the first. Some mansion fic and then some post-beach fixit fic. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Solitude Interrupted

**Author's Note:**

> The second chapter is really a sequel to the first. Some mansion fic and then some post-beach fixit fic. Enjoy!

After all the time spent on his own, Erik found the near constant companionship of four rambunctious young people and a telepath a little trying. He took to wandering the house at night for the solitude. Most of the house wasn't in use with just the few of them there, so there were plenty of rooms for him to get lost in. The majority of the rooms all looked the same, which is to say that each room looked something like a museum. Idly, Erik wondered how Charles--who had so much life and spirit--had ever managed to be a boy here.

The room Erik stumbled into this particular night had a distinctly feminine touch to it. He supposed it must have been Charles's mother's sitting room, and he couldn't help noting that it was about as far from Charles's stepfather's study as one could get. It was also the only room Erik had been in so far that had any pictures of Charles as a young man. He looked carefully at each one, but he lingered over the one of Charles in boxing trunks and gloves that looked far too big for his hands. Charles was all sinewy body and pale skin. Everything about him was so young.

"It was my stepfather's idea," Charles said quietly behind him. Inwardly, Erik jumped but he hoped Charles hadn't noticed.

"The picture?" Erik asked.

Charles chuckled in his warm tenor. "No, definitely not. The lessons, on the other hand, yes. He had some notion that I needed toughening up. Which I suppose was meant to explain his general behavior towards me at all times."

It was impossible to miss the dark undercurrent of that statement, and Erik frowned. "Did they help? The lessons?"

"Until he decided to see what I had learned and I took a swing at him," Charles said, coming to stand at Erik's elbow. "I'm afraid I was always meant to be a bit of an academic, anyway. Sport was never something I took to. I felt ridiculous in that, but Mother liked it."

"I think it suits you," Erik said.

"Yes, well," Charles said, ducking his head but not quick enough to completely hide his blush from Erik. "It was a long time ago." He looked around, a small shiver running through him. There were too many ghosts in that room. "Do you feel like having a cup of tea? I could use some tea."

Erik hesitated.

"Unless… of course, you came here to be alone. I'm sorry. I should have realized. Forgive the intrusion," Charles said starting to back out of the room.

"Charles, stop, please," Erik said softly. "This is your home. There's no reason you should apologize."

"No, it's our home. It belongs to all of us now. Which means everyone is entitled to their privacy," Charles said. He looked at him for another long moment and started to leave again.

"A cup of tea sounds nice actually," Erik said, stalling him again.

Charles smiled at him, bright and happy. "The rest of the house is asleep. It'll just be us, alright?"

"Good." Erik followed Charles out of the room and down to the kitchen, studying his shoulders and wondering how different they might look now as a man compared to when he was still nearly a boy. The lines were the same, but Charles had filled out nicely. He hadn't even quite realized he was staring until Charles tossed an amused glance over his shoulder.

"I don't need my telepathic abilities to feel you studying me," Charles commented.

Erik said nothing, choosing not to bother confirming something that Charles already knew. He settled himself on a stool in the kitchen to watch Charles make the tea, contributing mostly by filling the kettle from the sink and putting it on the stove.

Charles turned and beamed at him, always absurdly pleased when Erik casually used his power. He settled himself across from Erik while the water heated. "So, tell me, my friend, what about that particular photo had you so absorbed?"

"You," Erik replied simply. He met Charles's eyes easily. "It's fascinating imagining you as a young man, not quite so self-possessed as you are now. Not quite so confident."

"I'm hardly self-possessed."

"Charles, look around you. These kids have never had a chance to stretch their powers to the fullest, to explore the boundaries of what they can do without fear of repercussions or reprisals. These kids have never had a chance to feel comfortable in their own skin until now. You had that chance."

"Through indifference and neglect," Charles countered.

Erik inclined his head in acknowledgement. "As may be. But you know completely who you are. Few others of our kind can say that. I find it…impressive."

The kettle began to whistle before Charles had a chance to respond to that, but Erik noted another of those tell-tale blushes on his cheek before he got up to finish the tea. "Milk and sugar for you?"

"You could find out without asking," Erik noted. "And yes, please."

"Yes, but you know I wouldn't do that, not after you asked me to stay out of your head," Charles replied, setting a cup of tea down in front of him. "I do respect your need for privacy. Excepting for the way I blundered into you upstairs, of course."

"How did you find me there by the way? It was clear no one had been in that room, maybe even on that floor for quite some time," Erik said. "You weren't just strolling by."

This time Charles wasn't able to hide the blush on his cheeks. He bit his bottom lip and looked up at Erik through his lashes. "I'm sorry. You were thinking very loudly about me. It broke through all the background noise, so I thought I should investigate. I couldn't tell exactly what you were thinking, just that it was very pointedly about me."

If shame was something Erik was capable of feeling, he supposed it'd be his turn to blush. "I was thinking about your lips," he said. "Even in that black and white photo you can tell how bright red they are. And your shoulders, so pale and strong. And your chest."

Charles considered Erik for a long moment before lunging across the table and pulling him into a kiss. He felt the momentary surprise ripple through Erik, but as soon as he felt it, it was gone. Erik's hand landed in his hair and held him in place for a long moment, until the kiss finally ended and Charles sank back onto his stool.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," Charles said, chewing his bottom lip.

Erik quirked an eyebrow at him. "Did it appear I was complaining?"

"Still. It's probably not a good idea if I--if we--" He waved a hand helplessly between them.

"Why not?" Erik asked. Charles got up and made himself busy with cleaning out his tea cup and putting the kettle away. "Because of my gender?"

"God, no. I don't care about that," Charles said.

"Then it's me," Erik said, getting up and approaching him. He pressed him against the cabinets, trapping him with an arm on either side of his body. "You don't trust me?"

"I don't trust myself," Charles replied, looking up at him. Their bodies were a scant few centimeters apart and everything inside him longed to close that gap and melt into Erik's body. "I already want--too much. And the stakes are too high for us to risk being distracted."

"You're not a monk, Charles. You don't have to deny yourself something you want for the greater good. And if that kiss was any indication, you do want this. So," Erik lifted his hand to run through Charles's hair, "you tell me to stop, and I'll stop. We can pretend this never happened."

Slowly, achingly slowly, Erik lowered his mouth to Charles's as he finally closed the small gap between them, letting Charles feel his arousal through the material of his trousers. Closer and closer he went until their lips were just brushing.

_Please._

Erik blinked. He studied Charles for a moment, wondering if that had been involuntary. "Please what?" he asked, backing up a little. "Please stop?"

 _No. Just…please._ Charles fisted a hand in Erik's shirt and dragged him close, kissing him fiercely.

Erik wrapped an arm around Charles, holding him as close as possible while the other hand stroked along his arm and shoulder and slid up into his hair. He didn't want that kiss ever to end.

Finally, though, Charles hands were pushing at his chest, breaking the kiss. He was breathless, panting lightly, his already red lips impossibly even redder now. Erik's heart nearly stopped when those wide blue eyes fixed on him once more.

"This makes things so much more complicated," Charles breathed. "What if you get hurt? What if I lose you? I wouldn't be able to control myself; sick with worry or mad with grief I'd be liable to do anything. I can't--I can't risk that. I'm sorry." He pushed out of Erik's hold and left.

"Charles… Charles, wait…" Erik said, but Charles had stopped listening.

….

For two days Erik barely saw Charles, and when he did, they were never alone together. Charles was always out training one of the children or with Moira talking about potential plans or just sitting with Raven and talking quietly.

Erik still wandered the corridors alone, but he found no peace in this solitude. Perhaps inevitably, he found himself back in Charles's mother's study, where the picture that started all this rested. He took a longer trip around the study this time, taking a closer look at all of the pictures, watching Charles grow up in black and white stills. Finally, his eyes came to rest on the picture of Charles in his boxing gear. He sighed. _I miss you, my friend._

"I miss you, too," Charles said behind him.

This time, Erik didn't bother to try to hide his surprise. He whirled, open-mouthed. "Charles."

"Am I intruding?" Charles asked from his place in the doorway.

"No, not at all. I was just…thinking." Erik rubbed his lips. "I _have_ missed you. Very much."

Charles gave him a shy smile and stepped inside the room, pacing around the outer edges but keeping a prescribed distance away from where Erik stood in the middle. "I'm sorry. I had some thinking I needed to do, and I was finding the prospect of doing that while being around you…daunting."

"Am I so distracting?" Erik asked, smirking a little.

"You have no idea," Charles replied. "I was afraid I might repeat my performance from the other night and just throw myself at you again."

Erik adopted a relaxed pose, not quite sure where this was going but willing to wait out the ride. "I actually rather enjoyed that bit."

"Yes. That was quite clear," Charles said with a smile. "And if I didn't make it equally as clear, I quite enjoyed myself as well. I could have gotten lost in that kiss. It took everything I had to push you away."

"Then why do it?" Erik asked. "If there's mutual desire, what would have been the harm?"

Charles ran a hand through his hair. "Honestly, my friend, I couldn't be sure that the desire was in fact mutual. I told you that I wanted too much. I want more than a casual fling. I want to be yours completely. And that terrifies me. I've spent my entire life, used my powers in ways that I'm not proud of, to make sure that Raven is safe, that she can't be taken away from me. The idea that you could be taken away from me is unbearable."

"I'm not Raven," Erik pointed out.

Charles chuckled. "Yes, she said much the same thing."

 

"You discussed this with her?" Erik asked, quietly horrified.

"She was very helpful. Raven has never had a problem telling me when I'm being an idiot. Or an old fart. Or both. And it was her unqualified opinion that I was, in fact, being both the other night. So, I thought, maybe I could do this properly this time," Charles said, finally stepping close and looking up into Erik's face. He slid his hand up until he was cupping Erik's jaw and pulling him down into a kiss.

If Erik thought those first kisses had been thrilling, this one neatly buried them in the dirt. Charles's lips were soft and moist and he opened his mouth eagerly, inviting him into all that wet heat. Erik wrapped his arms around Charles and held him close, not willing to let him go this time. "For the record," Erik murmured against his lips, "I want to be yours as much as you want to be mine."

Charles pulled back and looked Erik in the eyes, looking for the truth there.

"You can find out for yourself if you want to. I'll let you in," Erik said.

Instead of answering, Charles went up onto his toes and kissed Erik again. "I don't have to. You just told me everything I needed to know."

Erik slid his arms tightly around Charles again, kissing him fiercely. He slipped his hands underneath Charles's sweater, a frustrated noise working out the back of his throat at the layers between him and Charles's skin.

Chuckling again, Charles pulled back, grinning wide at Erik. "Not here," he said, looking around his mother's study. "Come to my room."

"My room's closer," Erik nearly growled.

"Your room then," Charles agreed. He tugged Erik by the wrist, spurring him into movement.

….

No sooner had the door firmly shut and locked itself behind them than Erik was tugging Charles into another kiss, pulling at his clothes, desperate to get to his skin.

"Slower," Charles muttered between kisses. "Slower. We have all night. And many other nights to come."

Erik stilled his hands and huffed a breath against Charles's neck. "Did I mention how much I missed you? I need you, Charles."

Charles shivered in Erik's arms as he worked his hands under his turtleneck, pushing it up and stripping it off. He pulled his sweater off and helped Erik tug his button-down out of his pants so it could be unbuttoned. "Say it again for me. Tell me you're mine," he murmured.

"I'm yours," Erik said in his ear as he worked his shirt open. "I'm all yours. And I need you."

"I need you, too, Erik," Charles replied. He shrugged out of his shirt and cast it aside before running his hands up Erik's chest. "I'm all yours."

"Fuck," Erik grunted. He trailed his fingers over Charles's skin, maneuvering them both closer to the bed while he did whatever he could to hasten the removal of the rest of their clothing. He felt Charles chuckle against his mouth as his trousers sagged down around his hips.

"You're incredible," Charles murmured. He finished stripping and sat on the edge of the bed, tugging Erik closer. Running his hands down Erik's torso, he gently eased his underwear down over his hips to free his cock.

The suddenly cool air on his overheated flesh made Erik shiver. "Charles…"

"Shh," Charles soothed. "Let me take care of you."

Leaning in, Charles suckled briefly on the head of his cock before swallowing him down bit by bit. It took everything Erik had not to cry out. All the metal fixtures in the room started to rattle in response, the large handles on the dressers straining toward him. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but he only mostly succeeded. A low hum of vibrating metal still sang through the quiet room. "Charles, please," Erik murmured, threading a hand into his hair.

 _Please what?_ echoed calmly in his mind. _Please stop?_

Charles was teasing him now, the cheeky bastard. Plus, he was far too coherent for Erik's liking.

"Just…please," Erik returned, pushing Charles gently off his cock and tipping him back onto the bed. He immediately crawled over him, holding him to the surface as he attacked his mouth, chasing the taste of himself on Charles's tongue. Long, slow strokes along his cock provided the perfect counterbalance to the fierce, needy kiss until Erik felt the moment the tight control Charles kept over his magnificent mind started to slip.

Images of himself as Charles saw him, coupled with so much desire and affection and love, leaked into Erik's mind, making his heart clench. Under it all was a pulsing, throbbing bright spot of arousal and need. Closing his eyes, Erik focused on that as he prepared Charles and then slipped inside him.

A breathless gasp below Erik and that bright spot of arousal spiked, nearly swamping him in it as well. Erik opened his eyes to see Charles flushed and panting, his eyes tightly shut against the intense pleasure, totally beyond verbal or mental dialog aside from a jumbled litany of _Erik Erik Erik yes please more Erik please yes_.

Wrapping his hand around Charles's cock, Erik stroked in time to his thrusts. He watched, entranced, as Charles fell apart bit by bit, his hands clutching at Erik to keep him grounded.

 _Love you, Charles_ , Erik thought with the last shred of coherency left to him.

Everything immediately went white, Erik's brain momentarily unable to process. When his vision cleared and he came back to himself, he was unsurprised to find he had come as well, pulled over the edge inexorably by the intensity of Charles's orgasm. He slumped on Charles's chest, catching his breath and willing his heart rate to slow. "That was amazing," he murmured.

"For me, too," Charles said, stroking a hand through his hair.

Slowly, Erik began to feel Charles collect himself and withdraw from his mind, leaving him feeling strangely bereft. _Don't go._

_Really?_

Erik lifted his head to look Charles in the eye. _Not just yet._

 _Okay._ Charles stroked his hair again and Erik sighed, feeling Charles's presence settle comfortably in him again.

Erik stayed curled around Charles for as long as he could, until finally he slipped from Charles's body and settled himself more properly against the mattress.

"My god," Charles said, letting out a sudden bark of laughter.

Frowning, Erik followed his gaze around the room. All of the dresser drawers were pulled out, most of them hanging limply open and spilling clothes, sheets, and extra blankets from their depths. Shaking his head, Erik couldn't help but laugh, too. He turned to Charles, languidly kissing the mirth from his lips.

"I suppose I should replace the pulls with wood ones in the rooms we're going to have sex in," Charles said thoughtfully.

Erik shrugged. "I don't really mind seeing the results of what you do to me," he said. "Leave them."

"If you insist," Charles replied. "And, for the record, I love you, too."

"I wasn't sure you heard that," Erik said, pushing his fingers through Charles's damp hair. "You were already pretty far gone."

Charles smiled softly. "I did. But I also wouldn't mind hearing you say it."

"I love you, Charles," Erik said. "I love you and I'm yours."

"Yours," Charles agreed. He curled up against Erik, his eyes slipping closed almost at once.

Quietly, Erik set the room to rights, pushing the drawers shut once more before flicking the light off with a thought and settling down next to Charles. He fell asleep, Charles's warm presence still resting at the edges of his mind. Solitude, Erik decided, was overrated. 


	2. Reunion

Charles doesn’t sleep much any more. He catches a few hours now and then, but that’s mostly out of sheer exhaustion rather than any conscious desire to rest. Instead he wanders the halls, trying not to think about how just a few short weeks ago someone else wandered these same halls.

Making the mansion accessible for him had been startlingly easy. The elevators he needed to get from floor to floor already existed; they just needed to be modernized for frequent use. As a result, Charles found himself in places in the mansion he hadn’t been in for years. Perhaps inevitably though he kept going back to his mother’s study on the top floor.

Tonight, like most nights, he wheeled himself into the center of the room where Erik had stood those few weeks ago. Erik...his Erik. He could still feel Erik’s arms around him as they kissed, holding on to him so tightly. He could feel Erik’s lips against his own, soft and insistent.

But his Erik was gone. He’d gone into a submarine and come out Magneto. His Erik was lost.

Charles held back a sob. If he let his grief overwhelm him now, he’d be entirely useless and there were the children to think about. In fact, Charles was sure the only reason he was functioning at all was entirely due to Hank, Sean, and Alex. Everything else--everyone else--had been taken from him.

A soft rustle of fabric behind him caught his attention and his back stiffened. A quick check confirmed everyone else in the house was asleep, meaning it could only be one other person. Wiping at eyes he hadn’t realized were wet, Charles slowly turned his chair. “Magneto.”

“Charles--” Erik began.

“What do you want?” Charles cut him off. The helmet, he noted, was firmly in place and had even been embellished to be more ridiculous than before. An intense wave of loathing for the stupid thing rolled through him. “Why are you here?”

“I came to see you.”

Charles closed his eyes and opened them again slowly. “Well, you have. Now go.”

“Charles...”

“Please, go, Magneto. I can’t--I can’t look at you.”

Erik frowned. That was the second time Charles had called him that. “It’s still me, Charles. I’m still Erik.”

“No, you’re not. You took Erik from me. The moment you put that helmet on you took him from me,” Charles said, his voice strained.

“Erik loved me. He promised to be mine, completely. Now he’s gone and I--” Shuddering, Charles shook his head. No. He wouldn’t say it. He wouldn’t admit how weak he was. Not to this man. “This is why I pushed him away that first night. This is why I never wanted to start something between us in the first place. Because it could all too easily be taken away.”

Erik fought not to actually stagger against the force of Charles’s words and all the pain and loss in those too bright blue eyes. “Charles... I do love you. I have loved you,” he managed. “Please.”

Charles turned away, unable to look at him any more. “Then prove it. I still love Erik. I’m still his. Always. Go now and don’t come back until you can give my Erik back to me.”

Swallowing hard, Erik forced himself not to reach out and try to touch Charles. He could see the tension in those muscles he’d long admired, and he didn’t think he could bear it if Charles flinched away from him. He sighed and turned to go. “I’m sorry,” he murmured over his shoulder.

Charles waited until he was sure Magneto was gone and sagged in his chair, finally letting the tears slide freely down his cheeks.

….

A week passed. And then another. Charles still didn’t sleep much, though he was putting more of an effort into trying. It wasn’t hard to see the growing concern in the children, but especially on Hank’s blue and furry face as each day Charles dragged himself through the motions. Deep down he felt he should hate that knowing look on Hank’s face, but he reminded himself that Hank had lost someone, too. Hank, more than the other two, knew what it meant to open yourself up to someone and have them walk away from you.

Every day was an effort, but somehow with the children Charles found reserves of patience and stamina he didn’t know he possessed. Even as hurt as he was, he wouldn’t let them suffer for it. He _would_ give them a home and a family, something none of them ever had, including him, despite the outward appearances.

Nights, though, nights were a different story. Charles didn’t wander the halls anymore. Instead, night after night he returned to his mother’s cold and lonely study. The pictures of himself on the walls seemed to stare at him accusingly. They had known this would happen after all; the truth of it was there for him in each picture. Charles had never had the perfect life his money and his upbringing should have promised him. He’d tried for something perfect, something real, with Erik, and now that it was all gone, his former selves did not pity him.

And yet, night after night he came into that room because some part of him, even after everything, some shriveled part of him still hoped that he would be sitting in that room and feel Erik’s familiar presence behind him. That he would turn and see the man he knew and loved.

As each night went on and Charles persistently remained alone, he allowed his thoughts to drift. Some nights he plotted and planned ways to hunt Magneto and his followers down, use his power to force them to turn on Magneto and then get that stupid fucking helmet off him. He wanted to bend them to his will and _make_ them do things his way. Other nights he wondered if there was a way he could simply wipe Erik from his memory, make it so he had never loved him and been loved back. Make it so that for him and for the others there had only ever been Magneto.

Some detached part of him recognized that he was hurt and angry and betrayed and he just wanted to lash out at someone, make them hurt the way that he hurt. That same part of him also recognized that it was all his fault for opening himself up to Erik in the first place. By the time Charles’s self-imposed time limit for staying in his mother’s study rolled around, he was usually able at least to dispel these dark thoughts. He thought about the children and what their needs for the next day would be and he somehow managed to find the strength to keep going.

Most nights after his session in the study, Charles put himself to bed despite the fact that he would often simply lie there for hours, unable to really get comfortable. He used to prefer sprawling across the mattress and taking up far more space than was strictly necessary. He hadn’t yet fully adapted to his new reality and this was just one of the ways it was obvious. Eventually, exhaustion would pull him into sleep until Hank came to wake him in the morning.

But occasionally Charles simply couldn’t bear the cold futility of his bed and he made his way to the kitchen for some tea before going to his own study to work. The last night of the third week since Magneto’s visit was one such night.

Charles wheeled himself into the cavernous kitchen, taking a moment to check in with the house. Everyone was sleeping contentedly, Hank was even dreaming about chasing something happily through a forest, and Charles envied them that. And was glad of it at the same time. The only problem he had currently was that someone had accidentally put the tea away on a shelf high above his reach. Normally the tin was left on the counter for him for just this reason. He was sure it had been done in a moment of inattention, but it was still extremely frustrating. And Charles certainly wasn’t going to wake anyone out of their sleep to fetch it for him.

_Dammit, where’s Erik when I really need him?_

….

Only a few miles away from Xavier mansion, Erik was in a hotel getting ready for bed. Mystique had urged him not to go on this recruiting run alone, being so close to Westchester, but a pointed glare had been enough to silence her. As a precaution, Erik had agreed to keep the helmet on more than usual. Charles’s range was impressive but it did have limits. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have concerned him.

However, he simply refused to sacrifice his hygiene to the helmet, and so at the end of the day, Erik slipped it off in preparation to take a shower.

_Dammit, where’s Erik when I really need him?_

That was Charles’s voice in his head.

“I’m here, Charles. … Charles?” Erik concentrated, waiting for something more from him, holding himself open to Charles’s presence.

Long moments passed and there was nothing. No hint of Charles with him. Erik frowned. Without another thought, he grabbed the car keys and sprinted from the room. The helmet was still sitting on the table.

….

Twenty minutes later, Charles was still sifting through the cabinets looking for another tin of tea leaves when the distinctive sound of the front door opening reached him. He frowned, rolling into the hallway and toward the sound without really thinking about it. His frown only deepened when a moment later he realized that it felt like-- “Erik?”

Erik froze. Turning his head, he met Charles’s eyes, eyes that brightened momentarily at the sight of him and then grew dark again in confusion.

“You’re here,” Charles whispered, almost too stunned to speak.

“I--” Now it was Erik’s turn to be confused. Charles seemed fine. There was no sign of intruders or attackers. The metal in the house whispered softly, warily to him, familiar in its way and telling him that there was nothing wrong with the structure. “I heard you. You needed me. You needed my help. I--I thought you were in trouble.”

Charles frowned again and then his mouth dropped open. “Oh, Erik. Oh, I am so sorry.”

“What, Charles?”

He tried to hold it back, but the laughter bubbled helplessly up from inside him. His nose crinkled and he dissolved into what could only legitimately be called giggles.

“Charles, what?” Erik said, becoming exasperated. He was still frozen to the spot where he was standing, not daring to come any closer.

“The tea,” Charles said, tears running down his cheeks now from laughing. Erik shook his head at him, still not understanding. “I wanted to make a cup of tea but someone put the tin away up on a shelf. I thought--just for a moment I thought that if you were here you could help me. I didn’t realize I was projecting that. And now here you are.”

Erik shrugged, lifting his hands helplessly. “And here I am.”

“Here you are,” Charles repeated, full realization hitting him. “Erik--”

Something inside Erik broke and he finally rushed to Charles’s side, dropping to his knees next to his chair and pulling him into his embrace. “Charles.”

“Erik. Erik,” Charles sobbed into his shoulder, gripping him tightly. “How--?”

“I was nearby at a hotel, getting ready to have a shower, when I heard you. Felt you. I didn’t stop to think. I just got in the car and drove,” Erik replied, stroking Charles’s back.

“You took the helmet off to shower,” Charles said flatly.

“But I came for you,” Erik replied. “As soon as I felt you I came for you. Charles...I knew what I was doing.”

Charles pulled back, wiping at his tears and unable to reply. But he didn’t entirely let go of him.

“Can we talk somewhere?” Erik asked. “Please?”

“Of course,” Charles said. He led Erik back toward the kitchen. After thinking about this moment for weeks, Charles was suddenly unsure how to handle it. Somehow he hadn’t expected Erik to look so much like he remembered, right down to the black turtleneck he was wearing. Part of him simply wanted Erik to take him to his room and spend the rest of the night making up for lost time. He stopped in front of the cabinet where the tea had been placed, gesturing up. “If you wouldn’t mind...?”

Smiling softly, Erik gestured at the tin and delivered it into Charles’s lap. He got one of Charles’s smiles in return at that, but it was uncharacteristically sad. Erik put the pot on to boil while Charles fixed the cups, and he tried not to be forcefully reminded of their first kiss. Except this time Charles wouldn’t be lunging across any tables. “Charles, I’m so sorry. I never should have come to you like that, as Magneto. You deserved better from me after everything that’s happened. After what I did to you.”

“Erik--I could have forgiven you for shooting me. I could have even forgiven you for killing Shaw that way. You know I was there, in his head? I _felt_ that coin pass through him. But I could have handled that. I would have found a way. What I couldn’t handle was losing you, too. You walked away from me the moment you put that helmet on. It was like you had died.” Charles was amazed that somehow his voice remained quiet and even, hardly wavering at all.

“The helmet was a mistake,” Erik said. “I never should have put it on, but I couldn’t let you sway me from what I had to do.”

“I would never--”

“No, you wouldn’t have used your power on me. You wouldn’t have had to. Your voice, pleading in my head... I wouldn’t have been able to resist that. And Shaw _had_ to die. For my mother, for me, for all the others he would have done the same thing to.”

Charles reached out and squeezed Erik’s hand, the pain rolling off of him nearly palpable. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me, Charles. I have far more to be sorry for.” Erik squeezed Charles’s hand back, pausing only to remove the whistling kettle from the range and pour the water into their cups. “Did you mean it? When you said you still loved me, that you’re still mine?”

“Yes, I meant it,” Charles murmured. “Do you still love me?”

Erik took Charles’s hand again, stroking his thumb softly across the back. “You said it yourself, Charles. We want different things. I believe the humans will never stop being afraid of us, that they will fight us and hunt us, and that sometimes a good offense is needed as much as a good defense. And I think you would do well to believe it a little more.”

Charles opened his mouth to protest but was silenced by a look from Erik.

“And I think I would also do well to believe a little more that the humans will one day accept us, will one day believe we’re not a threat. I think your school could use a little more of my way of seeing things. You need security, protection.”

“What are you saying?” Charles said.

“I’m saying that I told Mystique and the others I was coming near here on a recruiting mission, but it was a lie. I was always coming here to see you, to ask if you would consider letting me help protect you and your students from the humans, if you would let me come back to you. You need me to balance your rampant optimism, and I need you to balance and temper my distrust and cynicism. Your little mental excursion just brought me here earlier than I intended. And yes, I still love you. Of course I do.”

Charles wrapped his hand around Erik’s wrist and pulled, dragging Erik off his stool and into a deep, fervent kiss. “Erik--what about the others? Will they come with you?” he asked, not really letting Erik back up.

Erik stroked his fingers through Charles’s hair. “It might take a little doing, but I think Mystique will come around. She’ll never be the Raven you knew again, but Mystique is a good woman to have on your side. Where she and I go, at least some of the others are bound to follow. But I can’t make any guarantees. Frost is a formidable woman and she could decide to lead them on her own.”

“Whoever wants to join us is welcome,” Charles said. “I’ll need instructors of all kinds once I get the school up and running. I’m--a little behind. I was barely holding it together three weeks ago. If I’m honest, I’m not doing much better now. The only thing keeping me going is the children. But now you’re here.”

“So that’s a yes, then? You want me back with you?”

“Erik, if you think I am ever letting you go again, then you are out of your mind,” Charles said, beaming at him.

It was so good to see Charles’s old smile that there was no way Erik could resist kissing him again. He wrapped his hands around Charles’s shoulders, pulling him as close as possible. Charles’s shoulders were thinner than he remembered, which probably meant that Charles wasn’t eating. The fact that he was looking for tea this time of night meant he probably also wasn’t sleeping. “Let me take care of you,” he murmured against Charles’s lips.

“Yes. I’m yours. Always,” Charles replied.

Erik dumped the tea and cups in the sink and followed Charles from the kitchen. “Can I...?” he asked, putting his hands on Charles’s chair. The metal in it responded to him instantly, seeming to welcome his touch on Charles’s behalf. Erik knew he could easily move the chair without his hands, but for now, he needed badly to touch, to understand it as a part of Charles now.

“Of course,” Charles said, taking his hands from the wheels. “I moved my bedroom down to the first floor, the end of the hall in the west wing. It seemed... prudent now.”

Choosing not to reply, Erik simply reached out to squeeze Charles’s shoulder. The room itself didn’t look much different from the room Erik remembered upstairs. The furniture was similar, but then most of the house was furnished in the same style. The color of the walls was different. The bed though was the same, still covered in plush pillows and blankets. He’d always thought of it more like a nest than a bed, precisely. The only difference was that the bed was now lower to the ground, the surface aligned with the height of Charles’s chair. Erik shut the door behind them and locked it with a thought.

Charles took over the chair, wheeling over to the bed and then transferring to the surface. He couldn’t quite meet Erik’s eyes as he started to bend down to try to remove his shoes.

“Stop. Let me,” Erik said, kneeling in front of him. He unlaced Charles’s shoes and slipped them from his feet and followed it with his socks. Kneeling up, he slowly pulled Charles’s cardigan open, and then his dress shirt, pressing kisses to Charles’s throat and chest as it was exposed.

“Erik--” Charles murmured, running his hand through Erik’s hair.

Erik looked up at him and smiled. “So beautiful. You’ve always been so beautiful to me. You still are. I love you.”

“I love you,” Charles said.

A familiar brush against his mind made Erik smile and he leaned up to capture Charles’s mouth. _I want you here with me, too. Please._

_Erik, I need you. It feels like forever since you touched me last._

“I’m here,” Erik murmured against his lips. _And I’m not going anywhere._

_Is that a promise?_

Erik started working Charles’s pants open and down over his hips. _It’s a promise. I’ll never leave you again._

Charles tugged him up again, kissing him deeply to seal his promise. “Need you.”

Working together, they finished stripping Charles of his clothes and Erik laid him out against the plush mattress. He took a long look at Charles’s naked form, licking his lips at the sight of him. “So beautiful.”

Ducking his head, Charles blushed and then looked pointedly at Erik. “Your turn.”

Smiling, wide and joyful, Erik stripped his turtleneck and pants in record time, barely restraining himself from pouncing on Charles the minute he was also naked. He crawled over Charles, caressing the available skin as he kissed a pathway up to his lips.

Charles squirmed and reached for Erik, wishing he could wrap his legs around him. But it was enough to see Erik, his Erik, spreading them and settling himself between them as they kissed endlessly. It felt so good to have Erik’s hands on his skin, stroking, petting, exploring, reacquainting himself with Charles’s body. Erik’s mouth explored wherever his hands weren’t, and when Erik pulled a nipple between his teeth while a hand wrapped around his cock, Charles couldn’t hold back a cry. “Yes, Erik!”

Erik stroked and suckled, enjoying the feel of Charles writhing beneath him. Images and sensations from previous couplings cycled through his mind, Charles’s control in shreds.

_Please! Erik!_ Charles arched against him as much as he could, hands tightening on Erik’s shoulders.

“I’ve got you,” Erik murmured. “I’m here.” One thing that hadn’t changed at all was the small metal pot where Charles kept the lubricant. It was sitting nestled in the nightstand, and Erik pulled it out for them. He slicked his fingers and gently worked them into Charles. If he wondered how much of this Charles could feel, his question was swiftly answered by the sharp gasp and long moan from Charles as he nudged his prostate.

“Erik...” Charles panted. “That’s amazing.”

Kissing him again, Erik finished preparing him. It took a moment to try to figure out how to help Charles with the best angle, but once they had it, Erik was able to slide deep inside him. The feel of Charles surrounding him once again was heady and perfect, and Erik moaned his pleasure. He kept his pace steady, focusing on Charles and looking for any sign of pain or discomfort.

_Not going to break_ , Charles panted in his mind. _Fuck me._

Biting his lip, Erik upped his pace, finding that familiar pulse of arousal in Charles’s mind. It grew brighter as Charles got closer and closer to tipping over the edge, and it generally meant that they would go over together as Charles’s pleasure was transmitted back to and through him on a loop. Just as the brightness seemed ready to overwhelm them, Erik murmured, “Come for me.”

Charles cried out and the sound echoed in Erik’s mind as pleasure and release swamped them both. He was dimly aware of Charles’s body twisting under him as Erik emptied himself deep inside Charles. Their minds were as entangled as their bodies, and it took Erik several moments to sort out where he ended and where Charles began.

“That was perfect,” Charles murmured as their breathing slowed and they started to come back to themselves. He kissed Erik’s jaw and cheeks and temple soothingly. “You’re perfect.”

“Hardly perfect,” Erik replied, kissing Charles. He eased out of Charles’s body and stretched out next to him. “But I’m willing to try.”

Charles stroked his hair and ran a thumb over his lips. “You’re perfect to me. And I love you.”

“I love you,” Erik replied. “Will the others be okay, finding me here in the morning?”

“You’re staying the night?” Charles asked, not able to hide his surprise. “I just thought you’d need to go back to the hotel for your things. You’ll have to go back to Mystique and explain things to her.”

“I promised I would never leave you again and I meant it,” Erik said, smiling. “I think we should go talk to Mystique together. We can pick up my things along the way. For now, I want nothing more than to hold you tonight and for maybe a long part of tomorrow.”

“I like that,” Charles said. “And I think the others will be okay. Hank will be upset. He misses Raven--Mystique--very much. But they’ll come around. It’ll just take some time for everyone to adapt. As long as we’re together, though, I think we can handle anything that comes our way.”

Things weren’t perfect. There was still a lot of pain and hurt and real, deep differences between them. But tomorrow, Erik would take Charles back to his hotel and together they would destroy the helmet that had separated them. It was a start.

For the moment, Erik was warm and certain he was where he was meant to be. Erik tipped Charles’s face up to him, smiling into warm blue eyes as he kissed him deeply once more. The metal in the house murmured to him, content, as it settled around them.


End file.
